Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to heat sinks for removing heat from heat-generating electronic components used in computers.
Background of the Related Art
Computer systems require removal of heat from heat-generating electronic components such as processors. Heat-generating electronic components are generally coupled to a generally planar host card such as a circuit board having a series of electronic contacts along an edge to facilitate electronic engagement between the host card and a motherboard. Electrical current and data are routed to the heat-generating electronic component through the motherboard and through the electronic contacts on the circuit board. Heat generated by the electronic component may be transferred by conduction to a heat sink. A plurality of fins may be coupled to the heat sink to dissipate heat to surrounding air within the computer chassis. Air flow within the chassis may be provided by air movers such as fans installed within a computer chassis, a server rack or within a server room. Air movers are generally fixed and may be coupled to a controller to vary the speed of the air mover as needed to provide sufficient air flow to cool electronic components.
Fins on a heat sink efficiently dissipate heat to a surrounding air flow when the fins are generally aligned with the air flow. For this reason, air movers are generally positioned to draw air into an inlet end of a chassis, server rack or server room, and heat sinks are generally positioned within a chassis to align the fins with the anticipated air flow. However, the direction of air flow within a computer chassis, server rack or server room can change direction. For example, if a computer chassis or server rack has multiple air movers disposed in a row or array, the failure of one or more air movers will change the direction of air flow across heat sink fins disposed within the computer chassis or server rack. As a result, the efficiency of the heat sink will decrease due to the misalignment of the air flow across the fins of the heat sink. As another example, obstructions such as expansion cards, circuit boards or even articles inadvertently placed near an air inlet or outlet of the chassis or rack can disrupt and change the direction of air flow across a heat sink, thereby resulting in a dramatic loss of heat sink efficiency due to misaligned air flow across the fins.